California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter to retire

California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter, a staunch conservative influence on the law for more than two decades, will retire at the end of the year, giving Gov. Jerry Brown a potential opportunity to dramatically reshape the state's high court.

The 74-year-old Baxter announced Wednesday that he will not seek re-election to a 12-year term on the November ballot, the second justice to depart the Supreme Court this year. Baxter, an appointee of former Republican Gov. George Deukmejian, has spent 24 years as a justice, and is arguably the most conservative justice remaining on the seven-member court.

Justice Joyce Kennard retired in April, and Brown has been vetting potential candidates for that seat. Coupled with the previous appointment of Justice Goodwin Liu, Brown would have three of his picks on the court once he replaces Baxter, assuming if, as expected, the governor is re-elected in November.

Before joining the state Supreme Court, Baxter was an appeals court justice in Fresno and previously served as Deukmejian's appointments secretary, including for the judiciary. Deukmejian also was a lawyer and prosecutor in Fresno.

In a statement, Baxter called his Supreme Court service "a privilege," and said he planned to spend time with family, traveling and on hobbies in retirement.

Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye said she would miss Baxter's "sage advice and counsel."

While on the court, Baxter, soft-spoken and known for being courteous in his grilling of lawyers during arguments, seldom broke from the court's entrenched conservative wing, regularly upholding death sentences and generally siding with prosecutors in criminal cases.

Baxter also was part of the dissent in the 4-3 decision in 2008 that struck down California's laws barring same-sex marriage. Voters later restored the gay marriage ban with Proposition 8, which was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.

Baxter has authored many notable opinions, including deciding the so-called "Friends" sitcom case in 2006. In that ruling, he determined that sexually vulgar language is often a central part of the creative process, tossing a sexual harassment case brought by a former assistant on the popular TV show. The justice also in 1995 upheld a Santa Ana no-camping ordinance that targeted the homeless.

Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz